Liverpool are very close to securing a Premier League title after beating West Ham at Anfield on Sunday.
Lewis Diaz scored on the side of Arne Slot in the 18th minute, but the victory seemed to slip from their grasp when the moment of false communication between Virgil van Dick and Andy Robertson decoupled the ball to his net in five minutes. However, Van Dijk compensated for his mistake by heading to Alexis McAlistair’s corner home three minutes later to get a key winner.
team
Trent Alexander Arnold, like Joe Gomez and Tyler Morton, had not yet taken action for the host. Interestingly, Darwin Nunes was also removed from the team, but there were no reports of injuries to the Uruguayan striker.
However, Slot was able to welcome Alison Becker among the posts. Connor Bradley has also returned from injury recently, but has faced the right defense. Following a highly questionable performance with Fulham in the previous round, Robertson dropped out of Starting XI in favor of Costas Tsimicus, with Van Dick and Ibrahima Connate taking away normal place at the centre of defense. Dominik Szoboszlai also did not cover himself with his glory over Fulham. With Bradley returning to the team, Slot was able to bring Curtis Jones back to his natural midfield position along with Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch. Excited by Anfield’s faithfulness by signing a new contract on Friday, Mohamed Sarah took part in the attack by Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz.
As for the hammer, manager Graham Potter said his team had three names: Aaron Cresswell, Crisensio Somerville and Michelle Antonio.
With Alphonse Adeola at the goal, the three backlines consisted of Jean-Clair Todibo, Konstantinos Mavopanos and Max Kilman. James Ward Prowse and Carlos Solar were paired up in the middle of the park, with wingbacks Oliver Scarles and Aaron Wang Bissaka lined up on the sides. Additionally, Lucas Paketa and Mohammed Kudus supported Jarrod Bowen as the focus of their attack in the presence of Antonio.
How did that happen?
Liverpool started on the front paws, with Diaz and Jones both pulling early saves from Alphonse Areola, and Bradley’s strong strike widening the deflection.
Their dominance was quickly rewarded as Sara beat Scarles to the right and Diaz squared her right to convert in the back post within 20 minutes.
The goal was to involve West Ham in action. Kudus was almost even with a delicate lob that Alisson tilted towards the crossbar.
Liverpool continues to intimidate, but it was the visitors who created a more clear opportunity before halftime.
After the break, Liverpool almost extended the lead when Mac Allister hit the crossbar with a curling free kick.
However, West Ham continued his push, and Bowen set up solar to fire before forcing Allison to a smart stop from his missing effort after destroying the defense. The Brazilian Keeper was once again caught up in the action, responding sharply with his palms to a low shot from Kudus, doomed to a distant corner from a close angle.
Ultimately, Pressure said, and West Ham was on the level when Robertson, who had hoped to improve Tsimikas after last week’s flaw, turned into his own net following an impressive job from Wan Bisaka on the left.
The equalizer evoked the crowd at Anfield. The Anfield crowd spurred Liverpool when Dias hit the bar again.
A race that almost finishes at both ends of the Premier League table.
The victory means Liverpool took advantage of Arsenal’s failure to win in the end – Gunner was drawn at home against Brentford the day before – expanding the lead to 13 points at the top of the Premier League table. With only six rounds of the season playing, Merseysiders could potentially secure a title on their next outing.
When Liverpool travels to Leicester and Arsenal to Ipswich, both title contenders face relegated teams. In the unlikely defeat for Arsenal, Liverpool will be crowned the champion if they win at King Power Stadium. But it’s much more likely that the Reds will have to wait a week longer than that. Winning Leicester and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield will mathematically close the race regardless of what the gunners do in their own match against Ipswichtown and Crystal Palace.
Meanwhile, sitting in 17th place at this point in the season would be a clear concerning position for Hammer if there was no 14-point gap between them and the town of Ipswich on the 18th. Potter’s men will then face Southampton, who has already been demoted at home, and if they win, if both Liverpool and Arsenal win their own match next week, the race will be a mathematically overloaded, denounce Leicester and Ipswich join Southampton in the championship next season.
Mo Salah – New contracts, new records
Sarah didn’t score in this match, but he provided assists to Dias’ opener, bringing the created goals to 18, with Mickel Damsgaard of Brentford, Jacob Murphy of Newcastle, Antony Robinson of Fulham and Bukayo Saka of Arsenal all sharing second place on the Premier League charts. In fact, in a 38-match Premier League season, we’ll see three more Egyptians become the best assist maker of all time.
Sarah also came in second with a goal scored 27 over Manchester City striker Ehring Haaland.
The 45 target involvement in 2024/25 total means that Sarah set a new record for 38 game seasons in the Premier League, overtaking one set in 2002/03 by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry (44). The overall record (47) is still jointly held by Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers, 1994/95) and Andy Cole (Newcastle, 1993/94) but with six games left to play this semester, it makes sense to expect Sara to break it.
He’s certainly an incredible player, and it appears that only Liverpool’s 16th exit from the Champions League will likely reduce his chances of winning Baron D’ this year.
Embedded from Getty Images